The Pyro of Lies
by Damian Rancow
Summary: Kai was not a Elemental Master. He was never truly human, but he still can count on his friends.
1. Chapter 1

The sun over Ninjago has gone until the really dark night arrived. It was after dinner and the ninja went to their room, to sleep for the next day of training.

Everyone was asleep, except Kai, who began to shiver in the cold in the middle of the night.

The red ninja felt the cold so suddenly after awaking in the night. He did not know where it came from, but it was terrible cold. So cold that Kai's skin has become pale, that he could easily be confused with an snowman or even his friend Zane. He tried to use harsher measures like warm up with his fiery powers, but this did not help him with afflicting cold.

His blood literally froze.

Kai thought it was just the usual flu that he had to contract during one of his trainings. He wrapped himself in several layers of blankets and fell asleep.

None of his friends sleeping in one room noticed the fiery light flashing for a split second through the whole bedroom. Only Jay, who barely conscious, covered his head with the pillow and laying aside.

**(20 YEARS EARLIER)**

She was trapped here for a long time. She did not know how much, but it seemed to her for thousands of years.

Pyro Viper's eyes began to fade because of the lack of sun in the Ancient Pyramid, as she was already tired. Despite appearances, not by staying through the millennium in this prison, but because of something else.

The Serpentine was crying, tears were running down the head of her newborn baby in both her arms. The baby snake was starving and tried to feed on his mother's milk, but she repulsed him with her arm.

The Serpentines despite being reptiles, were able produce milk for their young.

Aspheera sobbed, as her eyes were teary. There was not enough food for her child. Her only son, who came into the world a moment earlier.

To top it all, Pyro Vipers grow every 10 years and was the reason, why they had longer lifespan compared to other serpentine tribes. This, however, meant that her son would be 100 years old when he will start primary school, which would not help Aspheera, who wanted well for her son.

Crying, she heard steps in her direction.

Nervously she shuddered and pointed her vertical eyes towards the wall next to her. So there was someone who wanted to go through these traps just to solve this rebus on the wall?

Aspheera took a heavy breath and caught the last transformation potion in her right hand, which she did until there were no components that she wasted on other potions earlier.

The potion helped Pyro Vipers in shapeshifting for a specific period, helping to hide from sinister people.

The female Pyro Viper holded the mixture in front of her fangs, as the smell passed through her nostrils.

She had a choice. Drink it herself or give it to her own son.

Aspheera planted a kiss on her son's head.

The decision was obvious. She could not let her child be killed by strangers. She wanted her little hatchling chance to see the light of day.

The female Pyro Viper brought the bottle's opening close to her baby's muzzle, bending his head down that he would not choke. The young snake temporarily protest, which forced his mother to squeeze the child's head. She was good but a harsh mother.

"I know it's not tasty, Kai"

The infant coughed couple of times, poking his forked tongue out after swallowing the liquid. A disgusted grimace appeared on the face of a small snake, which meant the drink was bitter.

People outside were already close to the rebus solution.

Fortunately, the kid began to change slowly. The scales began to fall from his body, to be replaced by smooth human skin. The baby's head from the serpentine morphed into yellow head with messy brown hair growing on it. After a while Aspheera's son looked the same as the inhabitants of Ninjago City and the nearby villages.

Meanwhile the door rose to show two people in front of it.

One bearded young man in a red and a female with a straight hair and blue dress.

The male slowly stepped closer to tired female snake with "human" child in both of her arms. He travelled his eyes examining Aspheera. His eyes, however, focused on the baby wrapped in towel.

"Where did you found it?" he asked, raising his eyebrow with anger.

"I do not know" Aspheera lied with tears in her eyes. "He had to come in here when I was sleeping"

The man's both hands began to burn with fire, as The Pyro Viper gasped with fright seeing this.

"Stop lying!" he yelled. "Where have you found it you monster?"

Aspheera's glowing eyes filled with tears

"I PROMISE I DON'T KNOW!" she replied loudly with a fright in her tone. "The little kid had to crawl around somehow"

The fire from the stranger's hands disappeared, as he himself muttered something under his breath. Without a single word, he snatched the child from the serpent and looked at him.

The baby creature was wrapped in gray blanket. His black eyes were gazing at the large human with curiosity. The young boy whined seeing no sight of his beloved mother.

"We are taking him out" he said firmly, until he looked balefully at Aspheera. "If there was no child, I would have beaten you for a sour apple"

The female Pyro Viper gulped, as she watched the man walking away with her child. Before the adult snake came down from its place, the door closed, leaving her back in the dark.

**(PRESENT TIME)**

The sun came out slowly bringing the new day to Ninjago City residents. Not only to the city, but to the Monastery, waking up the Ninja.

Lloyd woke up first, yawning and stretching up his limbs.

"Alright guys, it's time to wake up and start training" he stated, jumping out of his bed.

"Is it morning, already?" Jay whined, taking off the pillow from his head. "I want to sleep"

Cole chuckled.

"What a Sleepy Beauty are you, Jay" the black ninja said with a smirk.

"My battery had enough time to recharge" Zane added. "What about you, Kai?"

The Titanium Ninja did not get an answer.

The all ninjas glanced at Kai's bed with a worry. The red ninja rarely got out of bed earlier, he preferred to sleep while waiting for training.

"Kai?" Lloyd stepped closer to his friend's bed and looked at it.

On Kai's pillow laid some blankets. Lloyd rolled his eyes and took it off the bed.

"Kai, stop joking a-" the green ninja froze in the middle of the sentence.

A very young blue serpentine slept on the pillow. From the growth it was possible to guess that it was a toddler. Two tiny fangs protruded from its muzzle, as instead of legs it had one tail.

The young snake yawned and slowly opened his red glowing eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

The four ninjas glanced at baby serpentine slowly waking up. After a while the child yawned and stretched its body. With glowing eyes, it looked at four teenagers.

"Good morning, guys" Kai hissed, not noticing that his voice has changed to more childish. "I'm sorry for sleeping longer, but I had chills in the middle of the night"

Kai's friends exchanged whispers between each other, again looking back at the little snake. There was astonishment in their eyes. They looked like they were pondering about something.

"Guys?" Kai began to feel more uncomfortable, as his friends stared at him. "Why are you staring at me like that? Have you see a ghost?"

The young serpentine awkwardly chuckled, which still sounded like hissing.

The first who dared to come closer was Jay, Not because he wanted to. He was simply pushed forward. The blue ninja gulped and dared to ask.

"Who are you, little boy?" he asked, nervousness growing in his voice. "Where are your parents?"

Kai's glowing eyes turned to face his friend.

"Jay, please stop kidding" the serpentine toddler scoffed, letting out himself another hiss. "We were playing games together"

The blue ninja raised his eyebrow.

"We were… playing games?" Jay repeated, darting his eyes between small snake and his other roommates. "Friends? Did we play games with him?"

The rest of the Ninjas dumbfoundedly shook their heads in reply, also not understanding what the small serpentine is talking about. The toddler began to feel an increasing anxiety.

"I don't know who you are, young snake, but you impersonating our friend did not work" Zane added, trying to be nice.

This was the moment when Kai got scared. He quickly looked at his stomach and gasped. Dark blue scales were placed all over his body, with golden scales being placed on his belly. Kai touched his head and stood motionless, as he felt more scales. He paled however, feeling his head take the shape of a snake's head. Instead of legs, he felt one limb.

After a while the young reptile looked at his friends.

"G-guys, please believe me" Kai stuttered, his glowing red eyes were filling with tears. "It's me... Kai"

"Liar!" Cole shouted, not believing small snake. "Kai never cries"

It was true, the red ninja rarely cried, but in the form of a young snake he was more exposed to emotions. There was an literal tsunami in his glowing vertical eyes, while he covered himself with his hands.

"I swear, It's me!" he whimpered. "I swear I do not know why I am a serpentine"

Zane sighed and stepped closer to be face to face with the small snake. In his eyes appeared a bright light, that temporarily blinded Kai. After a second, the boy realized that the Titanium Ninja had scanned him. The light passed from the small serpentine's head to its tail. After those things, Zane looked back, which meant it was all over.

The nindroid stood silent, feeling how much information and binary codes about a small reptile pass through him. It lasted a few seconds while Zane turned to his other colleagues.

He was not scared or confused. His titanium face had the same expression as before.

"It's Kai" he said with a hint of shock. "I recognize him for DNA"

Everyone gasped, sending echo through other rooms.

"WHAT!?" the blue ninja seemed to be the most surprised after hearing that, looking again between his other ninja friends as he then peeked behind Zane to look at crying Kai. "That little serpentine is Kai?"

Zane coughed, sending another echo. "He is"

"What happened to him?" Lloyd asked, gently stroking a small snake on the head as if he was worried about him. "Yesterday, Kai was still a human"

"I have no idea" Zane replied.

"Serpentine or not, Master Wu needs to know about it" Cole stated with a compassion for crying Kai. "...and Nya"

Kai did not stop crying, as he hugged Lloyd's green kimono. After a few seconds, his entire outfit was wet after Kai's tears. The green ninja only sighed.

"The poor guy will now feel abused" Zane continued with a sadder tone. "It's all because of us"

Lloyd gingerly caressed Kai's chin and looked at his glowing red eyes.

"Don't worry Kai, Master Wu should now what to do about it"

The green ninja wrapped small serpentine in blankets and took it in his both arms. Kai, covered with several layers of various blankets, fell asleep almost immediately.

The former red ninja could not resist the heat and warmness contained in it, as he hissed in his sleep.

It looked beautiful from the eyes of other Ninja, who at the sight of a small snake groaned all at once. Lloyd had to be careful not to drop him.

(Later that day)

Master Wu did what he usually did for most of the days since defeating the Oni. Meditated in his room with three incense sticks in a vase as his mind being deep in thoughts. He was so focused on his thoughts that he did not even realize that the door in front of him slowly moved.

"Master? Can we come in?" The Titanium Ninja asked.

Wu "woke up" by a slight jump and coughed couple of times. This time he was not offended compared to this time when he was previously visited by Lloyd.

He looked behind Zane to see other students and Lloyd at the end with carrying something in his both hands.

"Of course" the old man smiled. "I'm sorry for being absent, but I was focused on meditating"

Cole and Jay stepped in the room after Zane.

"Master, we uhmm… want to talk about Kai" the black ninja called.

"Kai?" Wu raised his eyebrow feeling distracted. "What about him?"

"Kai said was feeling a little cold in the middle of the night…" Jay continued with a thrill tone. "...and..."

"...and...?" Master Wu repeated with a calm and cold tone.

Jay, Cole and Zane exchanged glances between each other, as Zane then looked at his master.

"What are we going to say?" Zane exclaimed with sadness. "Master needs to see it on his own eyes"

The whole trio moved away from the door to give Lloyd space to enter the room. Wu had a bad feeling already just looking at the door.

Then Lloyd came in. His eyes sadly stared at blankets near his chest. Wu could see the tail protruding from there, but he pretended not to notice.

"...You wanted to show me everykind of blanket?" the old man joked, but deep down he felt that his students had something to say to him.

Lloyd did not speak. His eyes were focused on the cloth he was holding. He put his right hand at the edge of the quilt, slowly revealing what was hidden under it.

Wu's eyes widened with shock.

A small dark blue snake was covered with cloths. He hissed in sleep.

The old man was not shocked because the fire ninja was snake. He was shocked, because he recognized the type of serpentine Kai was.


	3. Chapter 3

Wu did not exchange a word with his nephew, raising up and stepping closer in his direction. The old man's tired eyes were focused on what was hidden in the blankets.

"Intriguingly" he whispered wisely, fixing his beard. "I have not seen that one serpentine for a thousand years"

Slowly, he stroked the small snake's reptillian head, treating it as a priceless exhibit, still being puzzled by a snake child, as if the master had a rush of memories. Well, he was a Sensei after all.

"Where have you found it?" the sensei asked about the young serpentine, as if he thought it was his students' work. "The Pyro Vipers went extinct many years ago"

"Sensei Wu, It's Kai!" Jay replied with sadness. "We have found him like that in his bed"

The old man glanced at the blue ninja, shock appearing on his face.

"Kai?" Wu slowly took off his conical hat, as he stared at the baby serpentine. "It changes most of the things"

"Master, how to change our friend back to normal?"

Wu looked at Lloyd with a sight.

"I saw something like that in my youth" the old man said with a calm tone. "That it's Kai's normal form"

"Hold on, hold on" Zane let out his voice. "What do you actually mean, sensei?"

The old man let out a sight. "That means I can't turn him back into human"

"Why master?" the black ninja asked. "Somewhere here must be some tea for transformation or shape-shifting"

Master Wu turned and peeked through the window. "Because there is no tea for human transformation". Then he turned back to his students.

"Sensei, let's get this straight" the green ninja added with hint of irritation. "What happened to Kai? Who were The Pyro Vipers?"

Wu sighed, feeling that his students want to know so much. He put out the incense and sat cross-legged in front of it. He patted the carpet with his right hand.

"Sit my students, we need to talk about my past"

The group with Lloyd with Kai in his hands, did as their master wanted. The four of them sat in front of him. The earth ninja jokingly jabbed his lightning friend with right arm, as Jay looked at him. Everyone after a while began to listen to their master.

Master Wu coughed to get the attention of his students.

"The Pyro Vipers tribe was the longest living tribe than other Serpentine tribes. Me and Garmadon were very young then. We encountered them after trespassing on their terrains, and then being imprisoned in their lairs. Being locked, we met one of the most beautiful female serpentines in the whole Ninjago" Wu coughed in the middle. "Her name was Aspheera. She wore white dress, decorated with gold collar on her neck"

Zane raised his hand.

"Yes, Zane?"

"Master, Why do you pay attention to her clothes so much?"

"I have it when I remember the details" Wu replied with a chuckle. "Even though I'm old, I have a good memory"

Wu coughed to continue his story.

"Me and Aspheera became friend after we accepted some agreements"

The other ninja, who raised his hand was Jay.

Wu, slightly annoyed with another question, looked at the blue ninja.

"Yes, Jay?"

"What kinds of agreements you mean, sensei?"

"To help Aspheera in the future" he replied with a shrug. "Some time later I taught her Spinjintzu"

Before someone of his students could ask, the old man waved his hand.

"You're probably wondering why" he said, seeing their confused faces. "Believe me, I made many mistakes, but I did not want her to use my methods against her own tribe"

The four ninjas exchanged glances between each other.

"After my teaching, She broke the promise of not using it for evil. Aspheera rebelled against her ruler. Mambo the Fifth to win the throne and invade our homeland" he continued. "Fortunately, thanks to my skills I defeated her"

"What about Kai?" the black ninja asked. "How he end up being serpentine?"

"The Pyro Vipers used transformation potions to save their children from other humans" The old man shrugged being unsure. "His real parents probably gave him away because they could not give him enough good things"

There was silence in the room.

"Master, how did you defeated her?" Zane asked, being curious.

Sensei Wu sighed. "It's not important. You have someone to take care of, Kai is awake"

He pointed at his nephew.

Lloyd felt Kai move gently on his lap. The green ninja looked down.

The small serpentine was awake and with his red pupils gazed at the blond boy. His eyes were half-closed, which meant he was still tired. He moved his scaly head only by a few centimeters, to hiss towards his friend.

"What does that mean?" the green ninja asked young Pyro Viper but heard nothing, however there was someone who knew the answer.

"He is hungry" Wu said coldly. "You should feed Kai before he will starve"

"It's good Nya does not see it right now" Jay whispered, but was kicked in the leg by nindroid.

"Well, what does The Pyro Vipers eating? Kai does not look like he is good with being vegan" Jay changed the subject.

"Don't worry" Master Wu smiled. "They are eating what normal human eats"

Lloyd sighed with relief. "I think warm milk should be good enough"

The ninja team raised up and bowed to their master, as Wu also bowed to them.

When Lloyd was close to the exit door, Wu remembered something

"I forgot to mention" the old man stated with a serious expression on his face. "The Pyro Vipers are growing 1 year per 10 years. That's why they were living longer than other tribes"

The green-eyed boy turned back to face his uncle.

"That means Kai will be a young kid, when I will have 100 years old"

Master Wu nodded.

"Aww" Lloyd awkwardly rolled his eyes, feeling more compassion to his friend. "Sucks to be that Serpentine type"


	4. Chapter 4

Nya went into the corridor, wiping her shoes with a doormat. She was sure she had heard the child crying in the Monastery, but she was not sure.

The water ninja was not wrong. Crying came from the kitchen, whose door was ajar.

"Huh?" were the only sounds Kai's sister made, when she peeked through the half-open door. The kitchen was dirty with food laying anywhere around the former free space of the room. It looked like her brother and his friends did the party in her absence. But those crying sounds were strange.

To avoid making any noise, the girl slowly pushed the door in the right side, quietly going inside. She could smell the scalded milk left on the fire.

Around her on the furniture slept four ninjas, but there was no sign of her older brother. Nya, feeling anxious, came closer to the countertop to check the source from which she heard crying. The water ninja shuddered seeing, what was laying in the sink.

The small dark blue serpentine being left on its own was moving its both small hands and crying at the same motion. It looked like the milk was supposed to be a long-awaited meal of this snake child.

The water ninja stopped being afraid, as she gazed at the toddler. It was just a child who needed food.

She raised it gently and looked in its glowing red eyes. The serpentine child was breathing heavily, which meant it was hungry and thirsty at the same time.

"Shhh" she calmly whispered, calming the young snake in her arms. "Momma is here"

The girl approached the fridge with the young reptile near her chest, opening it with her right free hand. She moved her eyes in search of the cold milk.

Bingo!

Slowly she took out the carton and closed the door with her elbow. She went to the table and poured it into the baby bottle. She just did not know how to heat the bottle. Not something that she could not. She just did not want to burn another milk.

"The milk is cold" she whispered to herself. "And after my brother, no trace"

Then something amazing happened.

The baby serpentine gently put his tail to milk, when she kept it in her hands. After a few seconds, the milk started to boil from the heat, as Nya glanced at it with surprise in her eyes.

"Wow, you are the fire serpentine?" she asked.

She did not earn a reply. The baby snake only nuzzled her chest in response, causing her to let out a slight chuckle and blush.

"It looks like you are enjoying my companion" she said with a smirk. "...and vice versa, buddy"

The water ninja brought the milk bottle's soother close to baby serpentine's mouth. Kai was not rebelling, slowly drinking milk from it. The former red ninja felt how much warmness from the meal is arriving to his stomach and then closed his eyes.

Nya was happy, that the small Pyro Viper was eating. The little creature was smiling.

After the finished bottle, Kai's sister raised the baby snake up, gingerly patting him on the back to burp. Afterwards she gingerly cradled baby snake to the left and the right side over and over again, until it became weary on her shoulder. When the silence came, she understood that the small snake rebel had fallen asleep. The water ninja sighed.

The girl smiled, hearing how The Pyro Viper is musically hissing in peaceful sleep. She had no place to put him, so she decided to keep him on her shoulder.

The first one, who woke up was Jay, who at the sight of Nya nervously laughed.

"H-hi N-Nya" he said, but get paled after glancing on the serpentine on her shoulder. "W-what a-are you doing?"

"Taking care of this small Innocent baby snake" she replied, rolling her eyes. "I was surprised that you and the guys could not handle one small hatchling"

Jay let out a sigh of relief, realizing that Nya did not know that this little snake was Kai, waking Lloyd sleeping next to him.

The green ninja yawned and rubbed his eyes. When he saw Nya holding Kai, he wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Zane, who had woken up earlier.

"Please be silent" the nindroid whispered.

"Why should Lloyd be silent?" Nya heard it and asked with concern. "What are you hiding before me?"

Nya looked around the ninjas again.

"Hey, where is Kai?"

The whole ninja group awkwardly chuckled, not knowing how to start talking. They could not keep this secret away from her. It was about her brother Kai. The most important person to her.

Lloyd came first, who looked only shamefully at the wooden floor. From Nya's eyes, it was obvious that he was stressed.

She raised her eyebrow with confusion.

"Kai said he was feeling cold in the middle of the night" the green ninja stated.

The water ninja's eyes widened, but Jay noticed it.

"Don't worry Nya, Kai is alive"

She sighed with relief. "So, where is my big brother?"

An awkward silence, the four ninjas whispered to each other, while Nya was waiting for response. She was impatient.

"So uh, where is Kai?" she asked again, but with a more angry tone. "What did he do this time?"

Lloyd knew, that he should say it to Nya.

"He is…" he murmured. "...here"

The girl looked around the room in search of her older brother. There was no sign of Kai in the room.

"Where?" the water ninja asked, glancing at her friends. "Where is he?"

Zane approached her and looked at the small serpent she was holding on the shoulder. "He is here"

Nya also glanced at the small snake. She burst out laughing.

"You're telling me that this serpentine is Kai?" she said with a giggle, but only met with serious expression from her friends, while the nindroid grabbed the small serpent in his hands.

She stopped laughing when no one was chuckling. Nya fainted, when she understood, what Zane meant.


	5. Chapter 5

**(1000 YEARS EARLIER)**

"I'm…" the anacondrai narrowed his eyes, not sure if he heard it right. "I'm a what?"

"You're gonna be the father" the female Pyro Viper sighed glancing at the floor being too scared to look at her mate. "I have done some research and it looks like I'm pregnant we are gonna have a child"

"How are you sure that this is my child?" the male anacondrai hissed, without being aware that he became a father. "Are you sure you haven't slept with anyone else?"

The Pyro Viper looked at the male serpentine with irritation in her glowing eyes.

"You're such an imbecile Pythor" Aspheera crossed her arms. "Do you think I'm not faithful to you?"

"No, of course not" Pythor shook his hands nervously and stepped back, falling back on the bed. "I just asked"

"You think that you can get away from being the father?" Aspheera raised her eyebrow. "Do you even know how "birds and bees" even work?"

"I KNOW I KNOW, SWEETHEART" the male anacondrai nervously giggled, afraid of his wife's anger. "But please, don't shout at me"

Aspheera took a heavy breath, as she glanced at her husband with anger in her eyes. The female Pyro Viper knew that she was pregnant and stress during this period in women was inadvisable, but her child's father upset her.

Pythor looked at the belly of his beloved.

"What is…" the male anacondrai swallowed. "What is the gender of our child, Asphee?"

"It's a boy" the female Pyro Viper sighed. "I know about it thanks to some spells"

In male serpentine's purple eyes appeared tears.

"I'm going to have a..." Pythor stuttered, tears landing on his chest. "...a son?"

Aspheera nodded.

The male anacondrai got out of bed and hugged his wife. Aspheera gasped softly feeling his large body on her scaly back. After all, she had to admit it was a pleasant feeling.

"I promise, I'm going to be the good father" Pythor whimpered, without letting go of his wife. "I'm just shocked about being fresh daddy"

The male serpentine did not want to let go, so Aspheera pushed the large snake away from her.

"It's okay" she hissed with a smile.

"We have to celebrate it somehow" Pythor smirked, as he caught Aspheera's hand. "And I already know how"

The female Pyro Viper blushed, as she was laid next to her husband and covered with a quilt. She saw Pythor's eyelid twitch in romantic manner.

They both started to kiss. Their forked tongues fought for domination like in kind of championship for each serpentine tribe. Their fangs were far enough not to hurt them.

Pythor slowly began to take off his wife's gold collar. Aspheera did not oppose, as she moved her body in trance like she did heard her favourite song and danced to it.

The male anacondrai threw the gold collar in the corner of the room, continuing to kiss her. She also enjoyed his company.

They finally stopped kissing, as Pythor fell next to his mate. Pythor and Aspheera took heavy breaths as they stared at each other. The female Pyro Viper rested her head on male serpentine's chest, while he laid his both hands behind his snake head. Pythor stared at ceiling with thoughts going through his mind. He wondered if he was a good father.

**(PRESENT TIME)**

The anacondrai travelled through caves he was in. His body was complemented by the robe of his white scales. He didn't know how many ways he had gone, but he just slithered ahead. Pythor knew that nobody trusted him anymore after he had betrayed the Ninja.

The male anacondrai was crying and travelled his tired eyes around the place. He decided to sit on the stone.

Pythor had enough of his life. Although he tried to pretend to be brave, people avoided him and treated him as the enemy of Ninjago City. He wasn't surprised. The male anacondrai awoke giant snake that destroyed half of the city and other people needed to rebuild it.

Pythor rubbed his eyes and looked at the stone floor murmuring something under his breath. He missed his tribe he has eaten after starvation. He has missed other serpentines which he was a leader for some time. He missed his friend... Skales, who already had a son that attended elementary school and met some friends there.

He... He had a family.

The male anacondrai after this memory began to cry. Pythor missed HIS family with whom he had no contact for a thousand years. His lovely wife, Aspheera who went missing and did not said anything to him… and unborn son.

Pythor angirly punched the wall behind him.

That wasn't fair. Garmadon had the family, Wu had the family, Skales had the family... but not Pythor. Why did anacondrai stand out so?

The male serpentine felt jealously, as he cried louder. He calmed down when he smelled a familiar smell. It was a very familiar smell. It smelled like… his DNA?

Pythor began to laugh, as he recognized the smell. He rubbed his eyes from tears.

It was his son, who needed his parents.

The smell was intense, which meant that the boy was close to his father.

Pythor didn't waste time and began to slither quickly toward the exit of the cave. He couldn't hang around. He had to go to his son, who wanted a parent. Pythor recognized that the smell was coming from the Monastery of Spinjitzu. Ninja did something for his little one and the male anacondrai needed to protect his child from them. The serpentine had to protect his child from the ninja.

Pythor wondered for a while how his son was in the ninja's base.

They… They had to kidnap him. What would be the explanation that the little snake was there? The ninja wanted to hurt him.

Male anacondrai did not care seeing other people running away from him, as he ran through the roads. He did not care seeing humans hiding in their houses away from him.

He had to protect his son.


	6. Chapter 6

The male anacondrai stood in front of the door to the monastery, waiting for it to open slowly. His eyes were full of anger, as Pythor himself clutched his fists furiously. The serpentine waited a few minutes and the door still didn't open. However, when no one opened, Pythor decided to act on his own.

Putting his hand on the handle, the male anacondrai felt felt a pressure coming from the other side. Well, well, someone actually opens the door.

The green ninja, sliding the door to the other side, did not notice that someone was standing in front of him. He realized it after sliding the door wide open. The blonde boy shuddered at the sight of his old "friend" in the doorway.

"P-Pythor?" Lloyd stuttered, stepping back inside, which Pythor used to approach closer to the green ninja. "What are you doing here?"

"That's a good question" the male anacondrai tiredly hissed, enjoying the fact that Lloyd is afraid of him. "But I... have a better question for you, old champ"

The green ninja leaned back against the wall in horror.

"WHERE IS MY SON!?" Pythor shouted, trying to attack Lloyd with both his hands, but something went not as he expected.

The brain of anacondrai was playing tricks on his owner, which made Pythor think he would strangle Lloyd without any problems. The truth, however, was that the male serpentine was scrawny and dehydrated after months of travels. In such a state, squeezing Lloyd's neck would be too much effort for him.

The green ninja sighed, as he felt Pythor's hands on him. It wasn't even choking. It was a gentle neck massage.

"W-why you don't fall to the floor?" Pythor hissed with surprised tone, as he felt more sleepy. "Why… you… don't…"

The male serpentine being asleep, fell on the floor.

Lloyd looked shocked at sleeping anacondrai under him. What did he mean by "son". What was he talking about?

"What got into him?" the green ninja whispered to himself with a note of anxiety.

The other ninja's ran into the porch, looking at Lloyd with horror in his eyes..

"Lloyd, w-what happened?" Zane asked first, approaching him and moving his head in search of abrasions, while the blue ninja was also that one, who noticed unconscious serpentine on the floor.

"Hey, isn't it Pythor?" Jay asked, moving closer to a sleeping creature. "What is he doing here?"

The green ninja pushed Zane out of his way and walked over to his friend. He knelt down next to unconscious male anacondrai with agitated face expression on his face.

"He came in and asked about his son" the green ninja scratched his hair perplexedly. "I didn't even know what he mean"

"Son?" Cole repeated with confused tone.

"Yes, son" Zane said, after scanning Pythor.

The three ninjas glanced at their nindroid friend with raised eyebrows.

"Zane…" Jay frowned. "Please, don't tell me, that Pythor is…"

"...Kai's father…" the nindroid finished Jay's sentence. "After scanning Pythor's DNA and comparing it with Kai's, I can say they are related"

"Darn it!" the blue ninja shouted covering his both eyes with hands. "I told you to not tell it"

"Sorry" Zane shrugged.

Lloyd grabbed Pythor's hands and looked at his companions.

"We need to take him inside" the green ninja said firmly. "Even if he was our enemy, we must help him"

"But he looks disgu-" Jay continued.

"JAY! Stop being the child and help us" the black ninja added, being annoyed by Jay's behavior.

"Fine, fine" Jay said, as he caught male anacondrai's tail. "We will take him inside, but don't think I will clean that snake"

Lloyd rolled his eyes and along with his friends moved Pythor inside. The adult male serpentine was heavy and the ninja had problem with it. However, the group managed to take him to the living room.

The unconscious Pythor was laid on the floor, as ninjas knelt down around him. Their eyes turned to the clothes he was wearing

"We should take this robe off him" Jay caught his nose. "It is stinking"

The ninjas without a word, started undressing him. They ripped the robe out of his scaly chest, then pulled apart his sleeves, and the rest they freely took off. The rest of the torn clothes lying under the anacondrai's back were left to burn in the oven. Pythor's bare chest was decorated with a beautiful crystal, while his freshly naked body looked emaciated and shown his bones.

Lloyd felt shocked, seeing his serpentine friend in that kind of starvation state.

"Looks like he didn't eat anything" the green ninja whispered, massaging anacondrai's chest. "The poor serpentine is a skeleton"

Even Jay gulped and felt anxious, sitting next unconscious Pythor in one room.

"I do not know about you, but I do not intend to participate in the study of this creation"

When the blue ninja was about to leave the room, he was forced to sit back by Zane, who sat next to him.

"Sit" Zane said one simple message with calm and cold tone, which was enough to calm Jay down.

"Alright, what should we do about him" Cole asked.

"I actually don't know" Lloyd sighed. "If we throw him outside, Pythor will go crazy and try to see his son, but from the other side, he will be calm, when he will be next to his son"

There was silence in the room. No one in the group knew what to say, so they were looking at each other.

After some seconds, Zane had an idea.

"What about about making Pythor see Kai, when Kai wants it?"

Three ninjas glanced at each other, before glancing back at their nindroid friend. Lloyd was the first to speak.

"Sounds good, but we need to tell Master Wu about Pythor being Kai's father"

The four ninjas heard an uneven cough behind them. When they looked back, ninjas saw their Sensei in the door.

"Who is Kai's father?" Master Wu asked, as he slowly approached his students.

Among his students he saw an unconscious anacondrai on the floor.

"Oh dear" the old man murmured to himself with a shocked tone. He didn't have to guess who it was because Pythor was the only representative of his species.


	7. Chapter 7

**1000 YEARS EARLIER, ANCIENT PYRAMID**

Two of the serpentine guards led the prisoner with a bilateral pull by the arms to a special prison their king has prepared. The prisoner wasn't a dangerous looking criminal but... a scared young female reptile.

"I beg you!" the female Pyro Viper begged, scared of her fate. "Have mercy!"

None of the two armed snakes even try to look at her. Their vertical pupils on red sclera were mostly focused on the corridor, through which they transported the traitor.

"P-please..." she stuttered, hoping that she would speak to the guards' senses. "My unborn child will not survive in such conditions"

What she said was a huge mistake. To her shock, the both male Pyro Vipers laughed simultaneously.

"It seems your little brat will have to suffer with you" the serpentine guard from her left replied coldly. "And it's only your fault, which contributed to it"

The heavy tears appeared in Aspheera's eyes, as soon as she understood that the guard was right. It was Pyro Viper's pride that betrayed her along with this treacherous deceiver that taught the female snake his forbidden moves.

The female serpentine sobbed sharply when she finally realized that her second heart, Kai, will also bear the consequences of her selfish actions.

"You finally understood unforgivable mistakes you made?" the serpentine guard from her right teased. "You could have thought of that, before you tried to assassinate our king, Mambo the Fifth"

Aspheera reacted to these words, raising her head up.

"N-no, I w-wasn't going to kill him" she shook her head. "I j-just wanted to o-overthrow him"

The male Pyro Vipers rolled their eyes.

"I don't see any difference" one of the guards sneered with a sigh. "An attack on a king's life is also an attack on all of us, the Pyro Vipers, and this is punishable by our culture who tolerates peace"

Knowing she can't do anything anymore, Aspheera stared sadly at the floor, which moved with each step of both guards. After a few seconds it took the form of a dugout.

"W-wait" the female Pyro Viper hissed. "Why is there no stone floor anymore?"

Aspheera glanced ahead and paled.

She wasn't sure yet, but the painting or something, that appeared on the gigantic wall looked like successful drawn attempt of her silhouette in front of the flames.

Everything was painted in the most beautiful details and shades.

"W-what..." the female serpentine blinked, confused. "What is this supposed to be?"

"Isn't it obvious?" one of the guards calmly growled. "Your place of repentance you deserved for the assassination attempt"

"...o-overthrowing..." Aspheera corrected with a nervous grin. "I-It was overthrowing..."

The other Pyro Viper guard glared at her with anger growing in his eyes. The female serpentine close to tearing up, gulped and glanced down.

"Yeah, whatever..."

The male serpentine gingerly touched the wall, which in contact with his hand began to shake. The wall turned out to be amazing puzzle, mixing in random places which eventually gave the image of a daub.

The wall also turned out to be a huge door, which slowly opened and showed the inside.

The interior of the tomb looked empty and even from looking at that, everyone could've said it needed a cleaner. IMMEDIATELY.

Aspheera spotted, that both guards are gazing at her.

"Come in..." one of them demanded.

"N-no..." she protested, apparently afraid of her prison. "I c-can't go there..."

"I said... Come in!"

With one strong push forward, Aspheera landed in the sand. Turning back in horror, she perceived that the door was shut down with a loud shriek.

"NO!" the female Pyro Viper yelled out with a shock in her hissing voice and ran to the wall. "Let me out of here! I beg you!"

She began to beat it with all her strength using her hands, tears streaming down her eyes.

After a few minutes she gave up, when she finally realized that it was all for nothing. Leaning back against the opposite wall, she landed on the dirty floor.

The female Pyro Viper did it when she felt the hot temperature rising in this room and sweat dripped from her brow.

"S-so hot..." Aspheera hissed to herself and looked at her belly. "Hang in there, little one..."

**OUTSIDE THE DREAM**

Kai woke up, groaning and trembling, when his body temperature exceeded normal high enough to make a young snake feel like a boiling soup.

Lloyd, who was watching over the baby's bed, realized this only after half a second.

"K-Kai?" the teenager looked at the little Pyro Viper with anxiety growing in his voice. "Are you ok?"

The green ninja didn't hear the answer, but the repeated groans coming from the baby's snout. Lloyd began to be worried of his friend's health.

"K-Kai!" the blond boy stammered with concern in the voice. "What is going on?"

The teenager touched the head of a small snake and gasped with surprise. Then he noticed that the young Pyro Viper was breathing heavily.

Lloyd had no idea what to do. The green ninja quickly reached for the glass of water on the bedside table and put it close to the baby's fangs.

Kai stuck out his forked tongue and began to drink with all his strength.

"Shhh..." the blond boy cooed. "Drink the water slowly"

The young serpentine emptied the entire vessel to stop the rising heat. It was worth it though, when Kai finally hissed with peaceful tone.

Everything was finally back to normal, ordering Lloyd to sigh with relief.

The green ninja hugged the little Pyro Viper tightly as soon as it came within reach. Kai did not hide his childish confusion in his glowing red eyes.

"Never scare me again" Lloyd blinked away his tears. "...because you scared me a lot, little one"

Kai had no idea what was going on around him. Maybe it was better for him. He was still young to know that he had become a hot ball of fire.

The young serpentine yawned with a long hiss and felt how his eyes were getting heavier.

The reptile fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

"Aww, my head"

Pythor woke up and placed a hand around his temple. The white anacondrai regained a sitting position and looked around the room what came in focus.

The serpentine glanced down and hissed suspiciously with lidded eyes, when the reptile realized he was not wearing his white robe.

Pythor did not have to guess, that he was in the Monastery of Spinjitzu. The anacondrai shook his head to the right and spotted the girl sleeping on the neighbor bed against the wall.

It was Nya, who was in a deep slumber. This could be inferred by the sounds of snoring reflecting off the walls of the room.

"Disgusting..." he commented it, slowly discovering and getting out of bed.

Struggling to keep his balance, Pythor slid closer to semi-open corridor door and with a confident stare, stuck out his long neck through it and looked around.

The corridor turned out to be clean and without any signs of move.

The white anacondrai in order to avoid making any noises, broke through the crack instead of opening the door normally. When everything went easier than expected, the serpentine began to head towards the scent of his descendant.

"I swear..." Pythor murmured to himself with anger growing in his voice. "I will kick the tar out of them, if they will somehow hurt my son"

With every slithering step along the empty corridor, the white anacondrai stopped to put his invisible ears on each door of other rooms in the Monastery.

None of the sliding doors located there answered his doubts.

That's what Pythor thought at first when was searching for Ninja in their home. The male serpentine was not there to have a cup of tea with Master Wu, but to get his child back.

The male anacondrai's hope has grown faster, when he picked out a baby babbling coming from the room he came across.

"Do not worry, little one" he heard a calm and wise voice coming out from there. "You will receive your deserved meal in a moment"

The white serpentine had to be careful against the event of an attack.

At the moment catching for any thing, in this case a broom. Pythor leaned against the wall right next to the sliding door, waiting for those inside to leave.

"Wait here..." the voice remarked after a few seconds. "Your food is in the kitchen"

Pythor tried to squeeze himself into the wall as soon as he heard footsteps getting louder and louder. Sweat began to ran down the forehead of the anacondrai as the door slid away in front of his eyes.

It was Wu, the uncle of the male serpentine's former "friend", Lloyd.

Fortunately, the old man's gaze was focused ahead to realize that the former ninja enemy was standing right next to him. He left the door open.

When Wu disappeared from Pythor's sight, the white anacondrai finally breathed a sigh of relief and reappeared in the place from nowhere.

The male serpentine entered the room.

For a moment looking around the room, the anacondrai spotted a crib in the corner. At the sight Pythor put down the broom and slowly slithered over to the cradle.

The male serpentine sighed before looking what was inside of there.

He sighed again, but this time with relief.

His Pyro Viper little son was alright. The bad ninja did nothing to him.

"Kai Char Chumsworth..." the male anacondrai spoke with a growing smile on his snout. "We meet again..."

The crib was decorated with toys. The young Pyro Viper covered with blanket, stared at the long-necked serpentine with a open snout decorated with tiny fangs.

The baby started sobbing out of nowhere, as soon as Pythor started talking to him, which confused his father a lot. Fortunately, it was a silent sob.

The white anacondrai gently stroked Kai's head to calm him down.

"Shh..." the male serpentine cooed with a hiss. "You don't have to be scared of me, son"

As soon as he said that, Pythor felt the temperature rise. The white anacondrai rubbed his forehead from sweat and tiredly panted.

The male serpentine glanced down and slithered back with scared expression, as soon as he saw something in the crib.

Not something, but his son.

Kai's scales from dark blue turned to a truly golden color. It would be normal for Pythor, were it not for the fact that fire was coming out of his son's neck, which started burning a pillow.

The white anacondrai sincerely loved his descendant, but this disturbed him greatly.

"PYTHOR!"

The male serpentine turned back and shuddered at the sight of five ninjas standing in front of the door with their master.

"Lloyd?" Pythor hissed with a shock in his voice and said what came to his snout. "What are you doing here?"

"This is my question" the green ninja remarked. "What are YOU doing next to your son?"

The white anacondrai quirked an eyebrow. How did they know that Kai was his son? He didn't say to his old friend. WHO was his son.

"What do you have in your defense?" Cole asked suspiciously.

"I just wanted to have a look at my..." Pythor turned to the crib and went pale. Kai looked completely normal. "...son, I haven't seen for a long time"

Strange. A few seconds earlier, his son was on fire and chanted unclear message.

Wu with a bottle of milk placed on his right hand, came up to the crying young snake and picked it up.

"Shhh..." the old man gingerly put the bottle close to the baby's fangs. "Here's your meal..."

The little Pyro Viper didn't save for later, grabbing the bottle and quickly drinking the content of it. His father watched it with concentration.

Before a few minutes passed, Kai emptied the entire bottle and burped. Wu patted him on the back and put him back in the bed.

"I didn't know that my son would inherit so much personality from his mother, Aspheera" the white anacondrai said with a smirk. "He looks like her clone"

He looked ahead and raised his eyebrow.

Sensei Wu looked as if he drawn his last breath. The old man dropped the empty bottle on the ground.


	9. Chapter 9

**1000 YEARS EARLIER, A FEW HOURS BEFORE ASPHEERA'S IMPRISONMENT**

"Your eternal greatness..."

The fresh "queen" of the Pyro Vipers opened her eyes after catching out a masculine voice. Her servant was upright above her bed.

"What?..." Aspheera snarled dryly at first glance, not enjoying the interrupted nap. "What do you want from me?"

The dark male serpentine gingerly laid the tray of food on the bed. After this deed the reptile stepped back and bowed to her personally.

"It's your meal, your highness" the black Pyro Viper calmly replied. "Prepared specially by the best chefs of our tribe"

Persuaded by the exquisite aroma circling her bedroom, Aspheera glanced down.

The tray with her breakfast looked rich. The edges of the vesell were decorated by a paintings of idols, to which civilians prayed with all their hearts.

Despite the wonder of such brilliant architecture, content of it was the one most important to the new queen.

The hot potato soup with vegetables and a clay cup full of red drink. These two things were also accompanied by a bowl of homemade spices, which would give more flavor and smell to dishes.

"Thanks, my..." Aspheera hissed softly, but stopped in the middle. "...what was your name, again?"

"It's Char, your eternal greatness" the dark Pyro Viper said with a hiss. "The queen's humble servant"

"Alright, Char" the female serpentine shrugged and rolled her eyes. "I'll have to give it my son as a middle name to better remember yours"

Aspheera spotted that Char grinned, as his vertical pupils grew wider.

"R-really?" he stuttered, unable to take his eyes off her. "Y-you really would?"

Aspheera laughed coldly.

"Of course not" she teased with a smirk, for which her servant lowered his head with sadness. "I was just playing with you, dummy"

Char murmured something under the breath and raising his snout up glanced at the young sorceress.

Aspheera began her feast by grasping the goblet and slowly lifting it up.

"To your very good health, buddy"

Taking the first sip of the red liquid, the new queen coughed and promptly threw the goblet on the corner of the room, which terrified the black serpentine.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" she yelled out, angirly wiping her fangs. "DID YOU WANT TO POISON ME!?"

"O-of course not, your highness" Char shook his head nervously not knowing what's going on. "This is homemade cherry juice from freshly squeezed fruits"

This answer angered the young queen.

"A CHERRY JUICE!?" she whined loudly. "I WANT WINE!"

Nobody knew if it was her pregnancy craving or her favorite thing she never grew up from.

"But your eternal greatness!" her servant put in with a worry in his tone. "Even a small dose of alcohol can be dangerous for your unborn child"

Char swallowed when he found himself in range of her glare.

"You defiant nitwit!" she countered. "Disobedient toward the ruler?"

"No, your majesty!" Char replied and shuddered as the sweat poured down his neck. "I'm just worried about the infant and his well being"

Aspheera took a heavy and long breath to some extent avoid early delivery. She couldn't get angry and take no sharp steps, because the health of her unborn baby depended on it.

"Fine..." the dark Pyro Viper sighed to avoid the anger of the young queen. "I'll go get some wine from the pantry"

"I hope so!" the female serpentine rolled her eyes and growled firmly. "Now, move on. I want to be alone right now..."

Char bowed to her.

"It was my honor to talk to you"

The black serpentine turned to exit and left the bedroom.

Aspheera sighed with relief, when she was really sure she was alone in her room. The female Pyro Viper headed toward the wardrobe and opened it.

"I still have a lot to discuss with you, Mambo..."

In the cabinet sat a chained male serpentine with a cloth tied around his snout. He was dressed quite nobly.

The female Pyro Viper rolled her eyes and tore the cloth from her victim's fangs. When she did it, Mambo the Fifth took a heavy breaths after feeling free.

"W-what d-do you want from me you tricky sorceress?" he asked angirly. "What have I done to you?"

Aspheera smirked.

"Of course, nothing" she spoke. "I've had enough of your rule, so the throne is now my property"

Mambo's eyes widened.

"What do you know about ruling and the subject's needs?" he asked with the same anger as before. "You are too young to even know about it"

"Oh, our dear former ruler..." she chuckled. "I've already secured myself in these kinds of things"

The male Pyro Viper hissed.

"I wouldn't say that about you, kiddo. Barely 180 years old, and you already have an unborn brat with the nasty anacondrai"

Mambo felt a sudden slap on his face.

"Don't you dare...!" Aspheera gritted her teeth. "...call my little prince a brat!"

The male serpentine smirked without a hint of guilt.

"He is not a prince, anyway" he spoke with a calm tone. "You both absorbed my kingdom in a cowardly manner"

The new queen quirked an eyebrow.

"It wasn't cowardly, old snake" she put in. "I defeated you with the power of Spinjitzu, which my best friend taught me"

"You freed those human kids!?" he snarled angirly after hearing it. "should both remain in the dungeon until their trial!"

Aspheera giggled.

"Luckily, you are not the one to decide on it" the female serpentine teased. "You will find yourself in these dungeons, now"

Before Mambo could say with all his heart what he thought about the sorceress, Aspheera stunned him with a piece of dirty cloth.

"Now I rule here" the female Pyro Viper countered. "I am the new queen of this stupid kingdom!"

The former king mumbled unclearly with a shock in his vertical pupils, as he was about to be closed again in this pokey prison again.

Aspheera laughed, when she spotted it. Finally, someone respected her for a moment.

Will all her might, she closed the wardrobe leaving the male serpentine in the fog of the darkness.


	10. Chapter 10

Kai let out a loud yawn, when a touch with the same structure trailed down his delicate young scaly back. After regaining a little part of his consciousness, he looked around the room with his half-open eyes and saw each of his teammates along with Master Wu by their side standing in front.

For a moment he felt that this whole situation with the transformation into a serpentine was just a terrible dream, but after his fuzzy sight did not reveal the location of his younger sister, Nya, Kai got a thought that she was stroking him on the back.

The former fire ninja slowly glanced up and almost immediately cursed his curiosity.

No other caressed him, but the white gem on the chest and extended white neck with glowing red eyes itself played a major role in this.

Even if Kai's eyes were playing tricks on the owner himself, the young Pyro Viper himself was close to the truth.

Pythor P. Chumsworth. One of Kai's oldest, but still active enemies in his days when The Great Devourer decided to party in the city.

It was a terrible sight for a young snake. Why did his friends do nothing about it? Why did they just sat there after letting this white devil inside their Monastery as if nothing had happened!?

"H-help!" Kai wailed, as Pythor's hand rubbed the former red ninja's neck. "NYA!"

Jay tried to keep himself calm at this wreching sight, but under the pressure of terrified screams of his friend, could not stand it. Others were also unprepared for the sight when Kai would be terrified of his own parent, mostly Wu, who knew that Kai would not receive the message about his biological father well.

When little Pyro Viper tried to break free from the embrace of the "stranger" in its eyes that held him tight, he felt on himself someone else's touch.

Kai raised his head with new appearing tears and spotted Lloyd.

"Lloyd..." the young serpentine mumbled toward him with scared tone. "Please... Help..."

The green ninja actually heard that and gulped to give a sigh after that. Opening his eyes again, the blond boy smiled insincerely.

He knew that what he would say will be difficult for Kai.

"Don't be afraid, buddy" Lloyd said regretfully. "Your dad won't hurt you in any way. He loves you..."

Kai clearly ignored his friend's words and was still trying to break free.

"W-what are you talking about?" Kai stuttered, letting out a high-pitched hiss right at the edge of sentence. "My dad Ray loves me!"

Lloyd sadly sighed.

"You misunderstood me, Kai" the green ninja continued with even sadder voice. "Your DAD won't hurt you in any way..."

The young Pyro Viper however, still remained in own world.

"But I'm telling you..." Kai replied nervously. "My father really loves me... He will don't do anything to me!"

"Stop it!" Pythor yelled out angirly. "My son doesn't understand this mill!"

Silence fell over the entire bedroom, and Kai himself looked more and more tearful, which meant that other ninja didn't get along with him that way they all expected.

Lloyd slowly stepped back to the group.

The only good way to communicate with the little snake was their master, which Kai most took seriously. It was up to the old man how the conversation proceeded.

One could say that this was their personal confession under the guidance of Pythor.

When the older man felt that he could not break away from the eyes of his students, sighed and knelt before the crying little snake. Apparently, Kai heard clearly what Anacondrai holding him said.

"...Master, please..." the young Pyro Viper shook his head, hoping it's just a slander on the adult serpentine's side. "Just say he is lying... He can't be my father..."

To the horror of the young snake, Wu shamefully looked at the floor, specifically the wooden tiles. Pythor himself had nothing to say, hearing each word of pain from his son's snout.

"Kai" the old man swallowed. "Nya and your human parents will always love you..."

Kai didn't stop shaking. He began to believe, but concealed that emotion about the feeling of being abandoned.

"H-human?" he stammered with growing shock in his voice. "What do you mean by saying that? They're my NORMAL parents, right!?"

The young snake also sought the truth in his friends turning his glowing eyes toward them.

"RIGHT!?"

He searched in vain, when each of them just like Master Wu, stared sadly at the floor. When he heard no answer, Kai's eyes returned to Wu's place.

"No..." he shook his head in both directions understanding every detail, but it wasn't a nice feeling. On the contrary, the feeling of pain tormented him from the inside along with his broken heart out of despair.

Kai felt betrayed, unwanted and rejected by his own friends which he trusted the most.

The young Pyro Viper's vertical pupils widened to the size of plums, when he wanted to cry the most.

Master Wu sighed and gingerly caressed the former red ninja's massive snake skull. He was still sobbing with his eyes closed.

Well, he had a reason. The first time he learned that he was never human, and the other one that his greatest enemy from the past turned out to be his biological father.

It was a unsatisfying feeling for him.

Everyone in the room overflowed with sweat when they felt the heat rising in it. At first the heat was withstandable, but it became unbearable after a few seconds.

"Lloyd?" Zane managed to speak. "Is this your doing?"

The green ninja rubbed the forehead and shook his head in response.

"No... That's not me..."

"Aw, my tail!" Pythor suddenly screamed, causing every other ninja inside to flinch.

The whole group looked at their master, who stood still at that moment. If Master Wu looked like that, then something unusual had happened.

They were not wrong.

From the slightly bloodshot tail of Pythor, the young Pyro Viper slowly came down. This, however, was not the strangest.

Kai's scales became golden and his head looked like a torch. It was also the first time the Ninja felt sorry for Pythor, being

glad that none of the ninjas held the young serpentine on their knees when this phenomenon happened.


	11. Chapter 11

**20 YEARS EARLIER**

A severe torment persisted. She felt it and knew it wasn't going to leave her alone. The body itself asked the owner to stop and give a rest. The same thing that made her grovel without any other possibility of normal and independent movement.

Aspheera panted with pain and gripped hardly her stomach.

Her little snakey was supposed to have been born many years earlier, but all these unfortunate events in the past... changed his mother's plans.

The female Pyro Viper had to remain daring and keep her little Kai longer in a womb, to go through calm labor after the passed sentence.

The problem was that the serpentine couldn't keep her son in the body forever, not at the expense of her health.

Aspheera tried to act like a mother. She traded all the gold parts of her wardrobe to a casual traveler, who found her in exchange for basic ingredients for fumes to prevent her baby from growing further than suggested.

It didn't occur to her that representatives of her species had been murdered hundreds of years earlier by the hypnobrai tribes.

The fumes worked for a limited time, and helped reduce size of the hatchling in her abdomen, up till everything returned to its initial state.

The little snake began to grow again.

The female Pyro Viper tried to get up from a half-sitting position straight on her tail, but in the blink of an eye she found herself back on the same place.

She couldn't stand it anymore. The serpentine had to give birth to her beloved baby.

However, Aspheera could not give birth in complete dirt, whereas she herself was too weak to find anything clean and warm to cover herself and her offspring.

The health of the latter was most important. The course of delivery mostly depended on the position of the infant in the uterus.

She drowsily glanced at her dusty white dress and growled. Half a loaf is better than none.

The female serpentine proceeded to remove the clothing from her torso over the neck and with great difficulty put it next on the ground.

Aspheera had a chance to look again at the ceiling of her prison and think again about her decision.

Either delay and contract blood poisoning or let the baby be born without issues to live in hunger. She chose the second option for the good of the child.

...Her guts could no longer stand either. This was one reason not to put off delivery...

With growing fear and sweat running down her face, the future mother swallowed and stared at her belly. The current location of her unborn child.

Not for long, nevertheless.

"Little one, I don't know if you're ready" the female Pyro Viper said with a hint of stress about what she wanted to do next. "But you must prepare yourself to meet this world"

The female serpentine gritted her teeth and closed her glowing eyes in focus. After a second, she loudly screamed.

Aspheera would've admit it's a painful operation, but never thought it would be such a agonizing pain. In the blink of a second, she felt like giving birth to a sort of stones or spikes.

The Pyro Viper paused and collapsed back to the ground. Only for a short moment, as soon as she returned back to the schedule.

She pushed with enormous difficulty, with the impression that Kai nestled in her stomach for good.

Put simply, from the point of view, it didn't look like he was about to leave. The little snake craved to be a internal part of his mother's reptillian body.

Aspheera did not intend to respect her son's choice.

"Very bad of you, little Kai" the serpentine breathed, trying to maintain a formal tone. "I'm not going to carry you my whole life"

The boy wished to play with fire, so be it. If he wants the war, he can have it.

The female Pyro Viper pushed harder. Though the pain was unimaginable, she began over to do her best without any excuses.

She wasn't lazy, but suffered from pain.

Along with her hard work, flies began to gather on the young mother covered with the amount of dirt.

Aspheera was too weak to chase them away and tried to ignore signs of exasperation they gave her, via landing on her glowing eyes.

She just wanted to start motherhood and see her prized newborn.

The female serpentine pushed several times, before she heard the cry of a terrified creature. The tired young mother finally lay down.

The Pyro Viper was delighted that her little Kai was finally born. It was a blessing for her toils and torment, through which she just went.

Aspheera let out a tired breath, again.

If only Pythor could see it now and he could feel proud of his descendant. But sadly, one day all trace of him disappeared. Sounded familiar wasn't it?

The female Pyro Viper raised her crying offspring and checked it. His sizable fetching red eyes staring curiously at the mysterious scaly navy blue adult in front, tiny fangs in opposite directions and forked tongue, hissing to tune with his cryings. Everything was in the right place.

Her little baby was so innocent.

Aspheera reached for her clothes next to her and wrapped her son in them. Little Kai began babbling immediately upon he was embraced by his mother.

The newborn serpentine tried everything to break free, but her grip was too tight. He gave up a moment later.

"Shhh" the fresh mother cooed in soothing tone. "You were born healthy and it is all matters now"

Not only the baby was crying, but also his parent. The female serpentine was sobbing.

Peering at her newborn baby, Aspheera was afraid that he would not survive long without food. He was barely born and she was already afraid about her son's life.

It was something sorceress herself didn't want to feel herself, let alone her offspring Kai.

She could only wait for another traveler to come.

The female serpentine still had a spark of hope that someone would take them from this nightmare. People outside have always been friendly, are they not?


	12. Chapter 12

"Honey! I'm home!"

The female Pyro Viper hummed proudly, carrying on with cleaning her worshipped youngster in the small stylish bathtub full of water and the foam that the boy himself was covered with. Her son was cheerful and laughed. It was a relaxing sight for her bright red eyes, as well growing with joy.

Her beloved anacondrai mate peeked through the door, his dark purple scales were just as valuable as the crystals on his head and stomach. Still, the most valuable thing was his personality.

The fiercest as his tribe, Pythor was gladly seduced by the beauty of his lover. Her beauty may have knocked anyone off its feet or tail.

The lizard's heart beat faster with pride, watching his two beloved ones during their routine.

He was happy to have a family, wife and his little Kai. It was the life anacondrai had dreamed of for a long time, though he encountered obstacles associated with this dream task.

Pythor, managing to be quiet like not one predator, slid closer to Aspheera from behind and silently spread his arms. After a second he hugged his mate in a comfortable embrace, much to her eye-opener.

Aspheera snickered softly and glanced at her loved one, continuing to clean her offspring.

"You have to try harder" the female serpentine teased. "You would have done much better if you hadn't signaled that you were here"

The male serpentine blushed and scratched his head. "I improve every time"

Aspheera rolled her eyes and wiped her son with a towel, which he apparently didn't like by immitating a sound of a low and chaotic hiss. The mother then gave the baby a playful snout catch.

Pythor stared at his son and twisted own neck enough, to look at his child from closer and better look.

The young Pyro Viper, wrapped in a towel next to his mother's chest, at the sight of it, gasped and hid under it. Aspheera was not delighted with this fact at all.

"Sweetie, you are scaring him"

The child's father looked at his mate and quickly came to his senses, by making his neck back to normal, and then awkwardly chuckling.

"I'm so sorry" he replied, saddened. "I didn't mean that"

Aspheera gingerly nuzzled her toddler, in order to help him reveal every feature of the head from the cloth. The little one encouraged by his parent, stuck out the snout and snobbishly hissed.

A little arrogant didn't want to have a conflict with anyone.

"Can I... Can I talk with him?" the anacondrai unconfidently asked. "I want to personally meet my son and tell how much I love him"

Aspheera recalled in the mind her first date with the anacondrai. She remembered Pythor as a clumsy but handsome creature who only asked for problems. There were times when Pythor sounded genuine and has shown full of admiration and romantic tacticts, which hid underneath the purple scales.

That's what the female Pyro Viper liked in him. Undecision and hesitation, with which he impressed her. It made him different from other Serpentine she met.

The female serpentine giggled, as she saw her mate playing and gently swaying their little hatchling. Pythor also acted like this one child at the moment.

The male serpentine loved his family, because he only felt very good at their side.

* * *

Pythor broke free from his sleep and took a few breaths. Repeatedly. Sure enough with being awake, he fell back on his pillow with a relief.

It was the middle of the night, generally another night at the Monastery of Spinjitzu. He realized this by Jay's snoring and sound of Zane's battery.

He was concerned about something else.

The white anacondrai glanced at the side with larger space, inside of the crib and sighed with relief once again. Kai was sleeping soundly without knowing the subject. The young Pyro Viper fidgeted in and out, but still slept.

The adult serpentine silently smirked and lidded his eyes, as nobody lurked for his precious toddler. Everything was in right place.

Pythor looked at his lovely child once more through the blurry vision before he fully closed them.

He fell asleep.

The next few minutes has passed until the closet door opened with a long creak. There would be nothing extraordinary if it wasn't for the fact that a pair of reptilian eyes lit up from there.

Apart from the rest of the ninjas, Pythor and his son, there was someone else... And it wasn't even a human, but something different, which was not allowed inside the Monastery.

When the wardrobe fully opened itself, Serpentine from inside slithered forward, but much to its clumsiness, stumbled upon its tail and fell on the stomach.

He groaned with pain, grabbing and massaging his elbows.

"Every time..." the creature asked itself with a whisper. "...when I need to find little something in the kitchen to devour..."

The lamp that illuminated a small half of the room, helped to show the appearance of the snake. His ash-like black scales, narrow snout with fangs and long neck melted into the shadow behind. The above-mentioned earthworm-like tail could knock down more than one opponent.

The reptile had to live in the Monastery for decades or hundreds of years, unnoticed by its residents and visitors.

At night, when no one was alert, he managed to steal small amounts of food from the fridge and make supplies hidden in clothes for years to come.

This time was different.

Because of this whole situation with a small snake suddenly appearing in this place, Char could not find enough supplies to fulfill his needs. He had to constantly remain in hiding and wait for the baby to be sleepy.

The black Pyro Viper was starving, so he couldn't wait long with it, when his cramped stomach was asking for food.

Standing up and wiping the dust off himself, Char slithered to the door and reached the handle. Then he heard the sound of crying suddenly filling the bedroom.

"Oh well..." he mumbled with a nervous giggle and gulp afterwards. "I think I'm in trouble"


	13. Chapter 13

Out of desperation with the apprehension that he was on the verge of being exposed as a burglar, the dark serpentine made a dash at the crib and clenched the weeping young Pyro Viper in a tight grip close to the heart.

"Stop where you are, intruder!" Char gasped and turned his head to see the whole group of teenagers and a white anacondrai glaring at him. "You're surrounded, we are outnumbered. Don't try any stupid tricks and surrender, you filthy snake!"

Each of them equipped their weapons immediately as a sign of brawl. "I advise you well, put the baby back in its place or you will bear the results of your actions!"

The scrawny dark Pyro Viper had no idea what to do, numb from fear as the sweat began to run down his snout and then landed on the ground.

Though he wasn't good at it, he pondered at full tilt with regard to how to get out of this situation and in some means leave this room intact and unscathed. He would have given up had it not been for the thing he had seen from the place he had left earlier.

The door to the corridor. Slightly open by him earlier gave the dark serpentine a greater sense of security and more options to flee.

"Oh, really?" Char deviously quirked an eyebrow asking it. "What if I use this kid as a shield, huh? You're do not want to hurt it, do you?"

This one answer hit Pythor like bolt from the blue, and also evidently enraged him.

"HANDS OFF MY SON!"

_Oh, no, no, no!_ Char yelled in his insides and promptly regretted his folly and the things he did not want to say, that slipped out of his tongue. He didn't want to hurt anyone or take the little Pyro Viper hostage, but to leave this place and forget about what happened.

Like a humble servant Char was, in an instant obtained how much humbly he had messed up the situation.

It was always like that when he desperately behaved.

"Alright..." the green ninja listened first and barely knelt down to drop the weapon he held. "Whatever you want to, but please, don't hurt the little snake"

The dark Pyro Viper seemed to be not prepared for the sight at the moment his lower jaw slowly went down.

"W-wait..." Char soon afterward ordered with a stutter, much to their confusion. "Keep your weapons with you! Don't any of you drop them or I'll hurt the hatchling"

"Hold on!" the blue ninja asked perplexed, not sure what to do at this moment anymore. "Then what do you want from us, you thrilling creature?"

The serpentine hesitated and pulled himself close to the exit door, Kai sobbed even louder at that time, while Pythor was seething with fury to do whatever to save his scaly offspring.

"I... I..." the dark serpentine tried everything in his power to make his voice sound menacing. "Give me everything edible! Yes, that's it! Give me something you've got in the fridge!"

All ninjas exchanged glances with eachother, absorbed by flabbergast and daze from how stupid it sounded.

Anyway, it wasn't type of a order one of them would've expect, and the one who said it was probably an idiot like many other the ninja team ran into.

This dummy serpentine still had a lot to learn and have the knowledge that he will not get everything on a tray, don't he?

"O...k... Food... You've come to the right place!" Zane drawed near and gave the adult Pyro Viper a fake smile. "You must be hungry, don't ya?"

The Pyro Viper's snout took a form of more excited tone, when these words fell from the mouth of the nindroid.

"Eat, eat, eat" the serpentine like in a trance chanted a answer to the suggestion, which clearly made Zane understand that black snake was thinking of nothing else but fill self up with anything tasty.

"You will get as much food as you wish" the nindroid replied and carried on with it. "But first, you must follow one rule"

Zane peeked at Kai trapped in the snake's embrace with a mild look and then looked back in front of him, trying to maintain a smile on the fanged stranger's red eyes.

"Put the little snake on the ground and don't make any wrong moves... Got it?"

Char nodded without hesitation, his mind hardly focused on something else, did what the ice ninja wanted like a obedient lizard.

Kai slid close to the corner and curled up in shock, much to Pythor's relief.

"Hey, what about my ninja-chi-" Jay wanted to interrupt, but was nudged in time by the green ninja, who apparently was assured with what Zane was going on.

"Very well, my slithery friend" the ice ninja said, approaching the dark serpentine with each step. "Now I will take you to the refrigerator and you can eat whatever you want"

Everything was going according to Zane's plan, as the snake no doubt became obsessed with something nutritious for the belly.

"Yay, I love foo-!"

BLOW!

The adult Pyro Viper flounced, while the nindroid has withdrawn thinking that the snake wanted to harm him or any of his fellow teammates. The truth was quite different when the thief fell on his stomach unconscious and Zane saw a familiar face outside the door.

"That's for trying to hurt my big brother, you oversized worm!"

"Nya?" Jay asked, but she didn't responded.

The water ninja scurried to the young blue serpentine hiding in the shadows and shortly hugged him, Master Wu appeared in the doorway behind.

"You don't have to be afraid anymore, Kai, you are safe now"

"What's going on here?" the old man asked, right until he spotted stunned serpentine on the ground. "What is this stranger snake doing here?"

"What is there to explain, master?" the earth ninja said with a shrug. "Since Kai turned out to be someone else, we've had a lot of guests here"

Nya managed to spot Pythor and reacted by reaching and aiming her weapon at him.

"So it was your doing!" she yelled. "Maybe you tried to hurt Lloyd, but you'll never kidnap my brother!"

Everyone stared at the anacondrai.

"I swear..." Pythor shook his head and tried to do everything to make them believe he wasn't behind this. "I see this snake for the first time! I didn't hire him!"

The white anacondrai didn't seem like he was shooting with evil intentions.

"Please, Nya, trust me..."

The water ninja continued to aim for a few seconds, but that changed, when she heard her how former enemy's hissing tone was visible with fear.

"Alright, I believe you" Nya hid her weapon and stepped closer to the anacondrai. "But after everything you've done, you will not gain my trust easily"

Silence.

"At least Ninja-chips are safe" Jay smiled. "...and call the police to arrest this sleepyhead on the floor"


End file.
